Representatives of the multi-institutional Nanotechnology Enabled Water Treatment (NEWT) Center gathered at Rice University May 16-20 to discuss research plans and progress. NEWT, a national engineering research center funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), is developing mobile, off-grid water-treatment systems that can provide clean water to millions of people who lack it. The meeting, which the center plans to hold annually, drew NEWT representatives from Rice, Arizona State University, Yale University and the University of Texas at El Paso as well as NSF program managers and NEWT industry partner representatives. Environmental research is one of Rice’s strategic initiatives for the second century. (Photo by Jeff Fitlow/Rice University)